4 days Ago By Craig Kerry
Champion trainer Chris Waller and owners Arrowfield Stud are taking no risks with unbeaten filly Autumn Glow, sending her for a spell rather than chasing a first group 1 win this Saturday in the All Aged Stakes. The three-year-old, a dominant winner of the listed Darby Munro Stakes on March 22 at Rosehill, was scratched from the group 2 Arrowfield 3YO Sprint at Randwick on Saturday morning because of a minor temperature. Autumn Glow wins the Darby Munro Stakes at Rosehill in March.
Credit: Getty Images The setback on day two of the Championships continued a disrupted autumn preparation, which was prolonged as the daughter of The Autumn Sun worked back from surgery on a chipped knee bone. That injury ended her spring campaign just before she was set to start favourite in the group 1 Flight Stakes, following wins in the group 3 Up And Coming and group 2 Tea Rose Stakes. After Saturday’s scratching, she was nominated for the group 1 All Aged Stakes and group 3 James HB Carr Stakes, both over 1400m at Randwick, for this week’s final meeting of the Sydney autumn carnival.
However, Waller told SEN radio on Tuesday that Autumn Glow would be spelled and set for a spring return. “We took her blood yesterday and it’s close to perfect,” Waller said. “The vet said I could gallop her today if I had to, or Wednesday would be better, but I just don’t feel comfortable with that type of scenario.
“I just felt it was better that we not take the risks, and just give her a spell. We didn’t have to spell her, but the following week, there’s nothing really suitable, then you are getting towards Hawkesbury [May 3], and she doesn’t really need to win a Hawkesbury Guineas. “We thought about South Australia, but that is still a little bit of time away, and you have to go to Melbourne, into Adelaide, so it just came down to the fact that she’s a group 1-winner in waiting .
.. and we’d rather prepare properly, and the spring comes around so quick.
“If we look after her, we’ve got her for a long time and we won’t even remember this prep.” Waller said he had not planned a spring target yet for Autumn Glow, which was an $11 chance with Sportsbet for the $20 million The Everest (1200m) at Randwick in October. Unbeaten colt Private Harry is so far the only confirmed runner for the slot race, after a deal with Yulong Investments.
The $1.5 million All Aged Stakes and $1 million Champagne Stakes (1600m) for two-year-olds are the group 1 races headlining Saturday’s program at Randwick. Waller broke his own record, going to 18 group 1 wins for the season, after a double last Saturday at Randwick with Via Sistina (Queen Elizabeth Stakes) and Fangirl (Queen Of The Turf).
He has Joliestar and Osipenko among nominations for the All Aged and Michelangelo in the Champagne Stakes..
